After Cremation

What Happens After The Cremation Has Been Completed?

Once the cremation process has completed, here are some things to know and consider about the cremains you will have before you. You are to provide the crematory provider with an urn or similar container to house the cremains or ashes after cremation. The urn or the container containing the cremated remains will be returned to you or whomever you designated on the authorization form.

If you and other family members have not yet decided on the final resting place for the remains of your loved one, you may want to talk with a death care professional such as a funeral director for the various options available to you. Some of these options may include any or all of the following:

Placing the urn with the cremains in an indoor or outdoor mausoleum or columbarium. Place the urn with the cremains in a family burial plot or special urn garden that some cemeteries provide specifically for cremated remains. Scattering the ashes in a cemetery garden that are created for this such purpose.
Scattering the remains at sea or on a land in accordance to your state laws. If you scatter the ashes, you may want to also choose a place for a permanent memorial, such as a garden location or other special outdoor place.

The urn may of course be taken back to the home of the deceased, but you should make plans for a permanent resting place as well. It is not typical that the cremains are stored in the home and are most likely placed at a final destination. Some families will take a small portion of the ashes and keep it inside a cremation piece of jewelry of small container in a home.